Moving Forward June 1, 2017 Nebraska Tourism Commission

Top Priorities #1 Research Impact of Visitor Expenditures Visitor Spending Employment Earnings Tax Revenue So this research effort was a QUALITATIVE undertaking --- we have all kinds quantitative measures as you saw at the beginning of this presentation ---

Impact of Visitor Expenditures $4 billion plus in Visitor Expenditures in 2015 Tax Revenue - $705 million Employment – 47,400 Without these jobs, Nebraska’s unemployment rate of 3.0% would have been 7.7% Every million spent by visitors creates 9.7 jobs Source: US Travel, Nebraska, 2016 So this research effort was a QUALITATIVE undertaking --- we have all kinds quantitative measures as you saw at the beginning of this presentation ---

Lodging Tax Performance Increased continually & consistently Average annual growth rate of 6.56% from FY10/11 through FY15/16 Outstanding, solid growth From $3.9 to $6.0p in FY17-18 Outperforming other aspects of economy Source: Nebraska Department of Revenue; Economic Development So this research effort was a QUALITATIVE undertaking --- we have all kinds quantitative measures as you saw at the beginning of this presentation ---

Top Priorities #1 Research Comprehensive Visitor Study Demographics Attitudes & Beliefs Where they like to go What they like to see & do Travel habits Origin markets So this research effort was a QUALITATIVE undertaking --- we have all kinds quantitative measures as you saw at the beginning of this presentation ---

Top Priorities #1 Research Seasonal Wave Tracking/Marketing Effectiveness Measure & benchmark awareness Higher levels drive visitation Monitor target market performance Difference in visitation between aware & unaware Message effectiveness and resonance Relevant, believable, persuasive Travel Incidence/ROI by selected markets So this research effort was a QUALITATIVE undertaking --- we have all kinds quantitative measures as you saw at the beginning of this presentation ---

Top Priorities #1 Research Values-based Positioning Strategy The WHY versus the WHAT Reflect the DNA & ethos of Nebraska Tap into values shared with our guests From visitor’s point of view So this research effort was a QUALITATIVE undertaking --- we have all kinds quantitative measures as you saw at the beginning of this presentation ---

Top Priorities #2 Marketing Out of State Not abandoning in state Rely and enhance successful Passport program Increasing visitation from out of state critical to growth Stay longer and spend more New money into industry businesses New money in Nebraska economy Tourism as a key economic driver So this research effort was a QUALITATIVE undertaking --- we have all kinds quantitative measures as you saw at the beginning of this presentation ---

Top Priorities #2 Marketing Out of State More effective targeting Identify markets with highest propensity to generate visitation Analysis and weighting factors: Travel Guide Requests Web Traffic Analytics by DMA Visitation by DMA – MRI So this research effort was a QUALITATIVE undertaking --- we have all kinds quantitative measures as you saw at the beginning of this presentation ---

WHY DESTINATION MARKETING? CATALYTIC IMPACTS OR HALO EFFECT Long time discussion about which “leads” – business development or tourism development. Honestly, it’s a chicken or an egg kind of thing, but know that people have been curious for years. From a marketing or sales standpoint, they’re two entirely different propositions. Business development – bringing new businesses to a community – is more a B-B spin; while tourism marketing – attracting visitors to enjoy your area – is truly a consumer-facing effort. So rather than continuing to squabble, Longwoods Research recently completed a study showing how the image of a destination was lifted by destination marketing efforts…there is significant halo effect of these efforts on many aspects of the community that you wouldn’t maybe readliy guess.

A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE

A GOOD PLACE TO START A BUSINESS

A GOOD PLACE TO START A CAREER

A GOOD PLACE TO ATTEND COLLEGE

A GOOD PLACE TO RETIRE

A GOOD PLACE TO PURCHASE A VACATION HOME So the bottom line is that Destination Marketing efforts – promotion efforts – positively affect consumer perceptions not only about tourism-related aspects of a destination; but also factors that influence business decisions to relocate there and other quality of life issues like “it’s a good place to live” “start a business” “start a career” “go to college” “retire” and even “buy a vacation home” It’s clear that destination marketing can set the stage for all kinds of development factors in a community…successful destination marketing efforts can be a catalyst for growth; it’s halo effects can have a positive effect on quality of life factors and community development overall.

Thanks! Any Questions? John Ricks Executive Director Nebraska Tourism Commission John.Ricks@Nebraska.gov